Review Your Life Insurance Before Trimming Hedges

by
Tara Maciulewicz
on
July 30, 2013

As a single working mom of two children, my time is precious. Every hour is accounted for, and in the summer, I have to make time for yard work too (not my favorite). But I figured it was always cheaper to make time than to hire someone. That is, until I experienced a single moment of almost-electrocution while I was trimming hedges. In that moment, I not only realized I needed to hire someone, but that I should check the limits of my life insurance.

This was two years ago, when my kids were still too young to cut grass or use electrical tools. I decided to tackle the bushes the size of Mt. Everest around the perimeter of the house. I know I’m a strong, capable, smart woman. So I marched off to my local home improvement store and purchased an electric hedge trimmer. I’d never used one in my life. How hard could it be? Apparently, harder than I thought.

I got home, plugged it into a long orange extension cord and had at it. Everything was going great. I finished up the front yard and moved to the back arborvitae. Then—and I’m not even sure how it happened—I cut the extension cord. Yes, I cut it. I mean I cut it in half. Sparks flew and the hedge trimmer went dead. I thought for sure my house was about to go up in flames.Thankfully, the cord landed safely at my feet and everything was okay, minus my nerves.

After I settled down, I went back to said home improvement store and purchased a new extension cord. The cashier recognized me and asked, “You cut the extension cord, didn’t you?” I was somewhat embarrassed, but I was more impressed that she figured it out. (Really, how could she know such a thing? Do I look that much like a novice with a power tool?) She kindly explained people do it all the time. (Awesome, I’m really not that incompetent!)

I got home—still a little frazzled—but was determined to finish the job. I moved slower and was more mindful of that orange cord. Ten minutes later, boom. I cut it again. And I was just as shaken as the first time it happened, maybe even more so. (Seriously…two cords in one day? This wasn’t an example to set for my kids.)

It was then I realized if something happened to me, I needed to be 100 percent sure my kids would be taken care of. I knew I had an employer-paid life policy, as well as a separate policy, but would that be enough?

I researched the issue online (it’s what we all do when we’re obsessing—turn to the Internet), and I learned from LIMRA that 35 million households don’t have any life insurance at all. That means the death of an income earner could be financially catastrophic.

In my case, I figured I didn’t have enough because my policy was set up more than 10 years before. After sitting down with my Erie Insurance agent soon after, I realized I didn’t have as much coverage as I should, so we talked about what products made sense for my situation.

Life is a funny thing. You just never know what’s going to happen, so give yourself peace of mind knowing you have adequate life insurance. I ended up adding more life coverage—oh, and I hired a landscaper.

As a single working mom of two kids, my time is precious. But I figured it was cheaper to make time for yard work than to hire someone. That is, until I experienced a single moment of almost-electrocution./blog/review-your-life-insurance-before-trimming-hedgesErie Insurance